Happy Birthday to my BLOG!!!

It is hard to believe that I have been blogging for a whole year!! Part of me feels like I’ve been doing it for so much longer and the other part definitely feels like I just got started.

When I first started, I had no idea where this adventure would take me, and looking back, I would have never imagined writing all the stuff that I have written. Truthfully, I didn’t think I’d have anything to write about, but I should have known better. My life is crazy, my family is crazy, my friends are crazy, and I do some crazy stuff…all stuff worth writing about!

I must say, I am pretty proud of myself for sticking to it. I really didn’t want to be one of those people that starts a blog and then never posts anything. I definitely haven’t written as much as I wanted to some times, but I feel like I’ve been pretty consistent.

I’m hoping that this here blog has been fun for you. I can’t say that it’s been inspiring or touching, but I do hope it has been fun.

Here’s to another year of crazy stories and revelations…after all, I’m only on #20 of The List. I have 10 more to go!!

I’m always up for ideas, so if you have something you would like to know or something you want to hear about, let me know!!! I love taking requests! J

ClustrMap

I don't know if you noticed or not, but I added a ClustrMap to my side gadget bar. My mom and sister both have one on their blog ,and I always thought it was pretty neat. Truthfully, I didn't add it before because I thought I knew pretty much everyone that read my blog on a regular basis. That was, until I got a random comment from some person I don't know (and can't even pronounce the name!). That's when I decided to add the map and see who was following me.

I loaded the ClustrMap on Thursday, July 5. That means it has been up and running for a week. Since then I have had hits in 6 states and 3 countries. Some of them, I can guess who would be reading it. Some of them, I have no clue. The states are South Carolina, Georgia, California, Virginia, North Carolina, and Texas. The countries are the US (obviously) , Guatemala, and Spain.

I'm thrilled!! Who would have thought people in so many different places would stumble on my blog and actually want to read it?!

I would love to hear who all of you are, where you are from, and how you got here. Leave me a comment (nice ones only, please J) and let me know.

Fireworks Part 2

I love fireworks and I love love. This weekend was a combo of them both, and I adored it!

My sweet, sweet friend Marianne got married on Saturday.

She and I taught school together a few years back and, if you can believe it, were in the self created "Inappropriate Club". ( I know it is hard to imagine me in any club that has the work Inappropriate...nah, I can't even finish that sentence!! Who am I kidding, most of my life has been its own Inappropriate Club!! J ) Although she taught 1st Grade and I taught Middle School, our classrooms were across the hall from each other. ( I know! It didn't make sense to us either. All I can figure is that God knew I would need her across the hall! ) She was such an encouragement to me, especially that last year! She provided sanity and an outlet when I definitely needed both!!

Marianne is right up there on the same list with Leigh Ann as being one of the nicest people that I know. She has such a sweet spirit that you cannot help but love the minute that you meet her. She has the most adorable little voice - perfect for teaching little kids. Although she appears meek and mild when you first meet her, she loves to have fun and is quite hilarious.

David and Marianne have such a funny love story. They started dating a few weeks before both of them moved overseas. She moved to Bogota, Colombia to teach school for a year, and he moved to Moldova to serve a year in the Peace Corps. They "Internet Dated" during that year and then met back up when they got back home. Shortly after, they were engaged and now they are married!

Her wedding was so much fun. The ceremony was a super sweet traditional church ceremony, but the reception was in a barn. Everything was so cute and so Marianne! The food was very country - shrimp and grits, BBQ chicken, mac 'n cheese, green beans, and sweet potatoes. Drinks were served in Mason Jars. Daisy were the flower of choice and burlap lined all the tables.

During the reception, the DJ asked everyone to go out to the front lawn for the fireworks. They were amazing! What a fun idea!!

I loved my wedding, but there are so many fun things that people are doing nowadays. (don't I sound like an old married lady there?!) It is fun to go to weddings now and see what other folks come up with. The sky really is the limit these days, thanks to Pinterest especially!

A friend of mine and I were talking about how other weddings really do take you back to your own wedding day. Sometimes in the middle of regular life, it is good to think back on that day and the promises that you made to each other. It is just kind of a refresher. If you are married, do that today...think back...remember your vows...remember your love...remember all the tiny details...and be grateful!!

And that, my friends, is tid-bits from Reb!  J

Summer Bucket List

I am excited to say that 3 more things can be crossed off my Summer Bucket List leaving me with 8 to go!! I’m crossing off YardSale-ing, Watching Fireworks, and Eating Homemade Ice Cream.

Two weekends ago, Crystal and I had a yard sale. Moving is a great motivator to get rid of junk that you don’t need. I cleaned out and made some money at the same time. Although it was a scorcher, we had a good time spending the morning together. It is always funny to watch people who come to yard sales! The idea of “one man’s junk is another man’s treasure” is definitely true!!

Wednesday night as we celebrated the 4^th of July, I watched some fireworks and had some homemade peach ice cream. I have no proof of the ice cream – it was gone too quickly, but here are some pics of the fireworks (thanks to Savannah since my phone had died and was charging in the house).

I’m sure it didn’t compare the ones they had in Downtown Greenville and Easley, but we had a great time watching what we had and laughing at David (not my David, Savannah’s uncle). There were a few close calls and one time the grass caught on fire, but that’s what fireworks are all about, right?!

20. Describe 3 significant memories from your childhood. PART 2

I think I’m going to split this one into 3 posts. I’ve already done the first when I told you about The Martha. This will be the 2^nd and then I’ll do another to be the 3^rd. I just know that I can be a lengthy story teller, especially in writing, and I hate for you to have to read 2 stories in one sitting! Isn’t that nice of me?!

Also, I don’t know what the original writer of The List meant by significant, but I’m just using this to share 3 fun stories from my childhood. These are stories that we still talk and laugh about, so I guess they are significant in some way.

Ok, on to memory #2…

I talk a lot about my family on here, so I thought I would give them a break and tell you a story about some friends of mine – Joanna and Lori. The three of us go WAY back. Lori is the first friend that I remember having when we moved to the Columbus/PC area and started school at CHA. I was in 2^nd Grade. Joanna lived out of town but came to visit every summer because her grandparents lived in Columbus. (Actually, her granddad was Bro. David!!) She did not move to Columbus and start school at CHA until 6^th Grade, but the 3 of us were the best of friends.

CHA was a small, private, Christian school. I’m talking 250ish students in Kindergarten – 12^th Grade small. When I say everyone knew everyone, I really mean it.

Because it was so small, most teachers had multiple roles or taught multiple classes. When I was in 9^th Grade, our History teacher spent her morning teaching K-4 and her afternoon teaching middle/high school classes. I’m sure this was a difficult transition for her since those are two completely opposite groups of students.

Before I really get in to this story, let me throw out a disclaimer. I am not encouraging school age children to act in this way. I do feel guilty about what we did, and I’m not telling anyone how they should behave. As a former teacher, I don’t encourage acting out!

Although it was wrong, it sure was funny…

Before our History class, Joanna, Lori and I were kidding around like we were all mad at each other (me and Joanna against Lori). When our teacher walked in, we were still joking around. She didn’t realize we were though. Before the class got started, she asked the 3 of us to meet her in the hallway. She started talking to us (like K4 kids) about our friendship and how no argument was worth breaking up a friendship. We carried on like we were still mad at each other. She finished her talk by saying, “And I’m going to leave you 3 girls out here to talk about what’s going on and come to an agreement where you will all be friends again.”

Really?! Leave 3 Freshman in the hall to “talk out” a problem?! What was she thinking?! If we had really been mad at each other, did she really think that would solve anything?!

As soon as she closed the door to the classroom, we all died laughing! We had never planned anything as sweet as being left in the hall to talk/goof off!! Score!!!

About 15 minutes into the class, she came back out to check on us. Well, of course, we had figured out the game by this point. We kept up the charade of being mad, so she went back in to the classroom to pick back up on her teaching.

About halfway through, she came back out to ask how things were going. Of course, they still weren’t great. I mean, why would they be?! We had been playing in the hall for half of the class!! It was at this point that we started to feel a little guilty though. She told us that she and the class had just prayed for us to be able to get through this and remain friends. Oops!

We decided that we were going to have to go back in and act like we had all made up or she was going to worry about us all night and, knowing her, probably call our parents to check on us!

With about 5 minutes left in the class, we decided to head back in and act like everything was ok. Well, I guess at this point we weren’t acting, because things really were ok! She was thrilled! The rest of the class was mad. They knew what we had been up to and couldn’t believe that we had gotten away with it! As soon as we sat down, the bell rang and class was over! We had managed to goof off in the hallway for the entire class!

It was definitely one of my favorite memories from school. J

America The Beautiful

July 4th.

A day off of work.
A day to relax.
A day to have fun.
A day to explode things.
A day to spend with friends and family.

A day for celebration.

Like Memorial Day, I think July 4th is often "celebrated" without being honored for what it really is. We have taken this holiday and distorted it to just another summer day to relax and have fun.

July 4, 1776 - the Birth of our Nation.

I know...I am a bit of a History nerd, especially US History. (Good thing since I majored in it in college!!) I know that everyone else doesn't love all the details of history like I do, but I do think it is super important to understand what July 4th means in our nation. It is not a universal holiday. It is a US holiday.

This is the day that our nation marks as its beginning. The day we separated ourselves from Great Britain and became our own nation. It's kind of like when you become an adult and move out on your own. It was a monumental occasion.

I am glad that our founding fathers had the bravery to come to America and make settlement on this land. I am glad that they rebelled against unlawful taxation and abuse. I am glad that they took a stand and chose to fight for their (our) liberty. I am glad that they were able to defeat the British armies. I am glad that they were wise enough to establish their (our) new country on Biblical principles that would last.

Are we still "one nation under God"? I'll let you ponder that thought.

Without getting into politics (I really hate talking about politics, and I hate even worse to hear what someone else thinks about politics - or wants me to think about politics!), I will say that we have moved away from the ideas that our founding fathers had for this nation.  That much is obvious. We have strayed very far from those first thoughts of Independence, and we have strayed even farther from the Bible and its principles.

Do I hate America? Have I given up on her as a nation?

ABSOLUTELY NOT!!

I love our country! I am proud to be an American - just wait and see once the Olympics start!! I am very thankful that God allowed me to be born in America. I am thankful for the freedoms and liberties that we have. I realize that there are people all over the world that have dreams of coming to America...some even die trying to get here. I am in no way against America.

I say, pray for our nation. Pray for our leaders. Pray for upcoming leaders. Pray for future generations. We are definitely heading away from what the Founding Fathers had in mind, but I don't think we have strayed beyond reach. We just need to look back in the past and learn from it.

So, shout out to G.Washington, T.Jefferson, J.Hancock and the rest of our Founding Fathers. Thanks for making July 4th a day to celebrate!

La La La...Here it is!

In keeping with the light-hearted mood, I thought I would share one of my favorite memories from growing up. I’ll count this as one of my 20. Describe 3 significant memories from your childhood. I’ll have to give a little background info so that those of you who weren’t there or aren’t familiar with my past will understand a little bit more. I’ll try to give the highlights on that part, but I do feel like it is important, so bare with me.

A large chunk of my childhood was spent in the Columbus, GA/Phenix City, AL area. We lived in AL but attended school and church in GA. My dad was on staff at Edgewood Baptist in Columbus and my mom taught school at Christian Heritage Academy (both of which we attended). Edgewood was a very traditional Baptist Church – hymns, full choir, orchestra, dresses, suits, etc. Looking back, I know that the church was very conservative, but I think the time had some to do with that as well. Churches were different than they are now. Most Baptist churches were more conservative, or maybe I was just sheltered and thought they were all the same. Either way – Edgewood was conservative.

Our pastor Bro. David was one of the sweetest and most tenderhearted men. He could get up and go while he was preaching, but for the most part he was pretty chill and quiet. I’m not going to guess his age while we were there, because I feel like I’d be way off. He always seemed kind of old to me, but I think a lot of that had to do with the fact that he was one of my best friend’s granddad. Now that I am older, people seem younger and younger!! J

Edgewood was a pretty big church. I’m not talking huge mega church, but several hundred people on a regular basis. As you can imagine, with a crowd that large, there was a big variety of people – old, young, families, singles, different races, different backgrounds, etc. Even though it was big, most everyone knew pretty much everyone else. I can assure you though, that pretty much everyone that went to church there or school at CHA (it was at our church) knew one person – Martha. If they didn’t know her personally, I promise they knew ABOUT her. She was commonly referred to as “The Martha”.

 

 

Martha was a very unique individual. Truthfully, I have a hard time deciphering fact and fiction when I think back on what I know about her. Word on the street was she had been in the military and was a little off because of it. It was rumored that her husband left her on their honeymoon – can’t vouch for that 100% but I always remember that being said of her. She was, as “they” say, a very portly woman, and she kept very short military-like hair. She cussed, which was a big deal to us especially since she did it at church. She drove a truck with a camper top that was always filled with junk in the back. The entire back and sides of her truck were covered in bumper stickers. She referred to herself as THE HEAD and even had it put on the back bumper of her car.

 

 

That, my friends, is Brad Parker - my childhood crush! I thought he was the best looking guy there ever was. Seriously, if I had a dime for every time the words "Brad Parker" came out of my mouth, neither David nor I would have to work right now! I also thought he was so brave and funny for taking this picture and having it put in the yearbook. That's right...in the YEARBOOK...Classic!!

I'd love to say that I'll tell you lots more about him on another post, but I'm not sure about that one. It may happen, but since he and I are both married now (frowny face on his part, smiley face on mine) I don't know that I should go back into those old days. I never know where we are going to go in Reb's World, so hang on...you may hear about him later. We'll just have to see.


Back to the story...

Another important thing to know about The Martha is that she didn’t particularly care for Bro. David. I don’t know the full history on that, but I do know that much is true.

Ok, so that’s kind of the background. You’ve got the setting (Edgewood Baptist Church) and the key characters in the story (Bro. David and The Martha). Those of you that know this story should already be laughing at this point. Those of you that don’t…hang on…It gets better from here!

My parents usually made us sit with them or a friend’s parents on Sunday mornings, but on Sunday nights, the youth always sat in the back corner of the sanctuary. That’s where we were sitting on this particular Sunday night. The service had already begun. Bro. David was at the pulpit speaking. From the congregation, a few rows from the front, The Martha stood up and started yelling at and cussing out Bro. David. She was yelling so loud that everyone in the sanctuary could hear her.

As you remember, this is a conservative church. We didn’t stand up and yell. There was no speaking in tongues. There was none of that.

As you can imagine, all of us in the “youth corner” were fighting back laughter. We thought it was hilarious, but at the same time, we were almost afraid. Church shootings weren’t as prevalent as they are now, but I won’t lie and say that probably didn’t cross all of our minds. No one really knew what The Martha was capable of, especially when she was that mad!

Bro. David remained very calm and began to rebuke her in the Name of the Lord. Again, this was a conservative church, no one that did stuff like that on a regular basis. This wasn’t a crazy run around, rebuking, and passing out kind of church. That added to the mood as well because no one really knew what to do. Bro. David asked everyone to kneel and join him as we prayed for her. Looking back, I’m sure this was just an attempt to get everyone to close their eyes so some of the deacons and staff could escort her out of the service.

While we were on our knees, one of the girls in the youth group came walking in to the sanctuary. She, obviously, had no idea what was going on. About as soon as she walked in, a friend of hers whisper-yelled, “Sharlene, get down!” Not knowing what was going on, and being afraid of what might happen if she didn’t, she threw her Bible and journal up in the air and hit the deck. I’m talking belly down, flat on the floor, hit the deck. She then proceeded to Army crawled down the aisle and over to her friend to ask what was going on. Kate explained to Sharlene that The Martha was cussing out Bro. David. Although she was confused, she was a bit relieved because she thought a gunman or someone like that was in the building!

After The Martha was escorted out of the sanctuary, Bro. David ended his prayer; we returned to our seats; and the service continued like nothing had happened.

Nothing had happened...yeah right!! From then on, everyone talked about the time that The Martha cussed out Bro. David during Church!!!

You may not see this as hilarious, but to those of us that were there and those of us that know The Martha, it is more than hilarious! I literally could tell you story after story about The Martha and about Edgewood, but this one is seriously my absolute fav!

**I’m so proud of myself for sliding Brad Parker into Reb’s World. He was, in fact, a HUGE part of my younger life. Score!!**